The global market for recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is expected to top $1.8bn by 2017 and offers huge opportunities for businesses, analysts have said today.
A report by Frost & Sullivan says e-waste has bounced back from the global slowdown, when it was badly hit by a steady decline in the price of steel and plastics, to become one of the fastest-growing sectors within the global waste industry.
This organic growth, combined with legislative targets, is likely to result in a 30 per cent increase on 2011’s $1.4bn over the next six years, the research firm predicted.
The report comes just weeks after the EU bolstered its WEEE directive, forcing member states to impose new recovery and recycling targets on electronics manufacturers and retailers, while also introducing tough new penalties for non-compliant companies and member states.
From 2016, countries will have to collect 45 per cent of electronic equipment sold for approved recycling or disposal, rising to 65 per cent of equipment sold – or 85 per cent of electronic waste generated – by 2019.
The definition of electronic waste has also been expanded and now includes solar panels and fluorescent lighting, after the EU dismissed manufacturers’ arguments that some equipment was too difficult to collect or recycle.
However, Frost & Sullivan expects strong growth in Europe to also be reflected in North America, where increasing waste volumes are driving the market, although it identifies some threats to expansion.
Of particular concern are weak enforcement of e-waste rules, the continued exporting of e-waste to countries with lower standards of legislation, and the prospect of another downturn depressing the prices of scrap and raw materials, which the report warns could once again undermine the financial case for electronics recycling.
